“Failure is an inevitable part of success, so we need to get comfortable with the idea that sometimes the work we produce will be below par or simply not good enough at all.  We have to stop striving for perfection and instead get things wrong a few times.  If we are so worried about getting things right that we never step outside our comfort zone, then we will never push ourselves.  Finally, it often takes many, many tries until that magical moment when what you’re trying to build comes to life.  It requires perseverance.  It requires imperfection.” (Reshma Saujani:  Teach Girls Bravery Not Perfection, 2016)(Harriet Minter:  Great TED Talks-LEADERSHIP, 2020)

Please know that I have shared my position on perfection many times during my professional career:    “Perfection Does NOT Exist”!  So it was a real satisfying moment when I came a cross the statements provided in the quotes that are the beginning part of this TRIPLE III TIME message.

I believe it is critical that as you consider initiating a new innovative product or service and/or taking a more creative means of doing your job…Taking A BIG Leap! down these paths is both progressive and positive!!  Too often people shy away from Taking A BIG Leap! in their worlds of work because of imperfection fears.  The result is personal, professional and performance growth limitations plus regular performance hesitancy everyday…EVERYDAY!

I standardly encourage professionals into Taking A BIG Leap! as part of their continuous improvement job strategy.  Does it often cause professional discomfort via co-workers and organizational supervision…YES!  But if your innovative/creative concept moves everyone a little forward… Taking A BIG Leap! makes you the leader that you should be!

Today’s workplace seems to have a group of very regular challenges including maintaining good employee attendance, alcohol and drug testing, managing an up-to-date techno-system, and remaining “in-tune” with customers wants and needs! One area, however, that is critical to overall company/organization progress… is the demand for GREAT Strategic Delegation of one’s workforce. 

Do you know what I am referring to? 

I believe one of the best options for employee training and development is Strategic Delegation. Whether it is a simple assignment that requires a high level of facility safety or a more in-depth responsibility issue that includes data collection and reporting… Strategic Delegation can often offer a great deal of return-on-investment regarding trust, versatility, and quality. 

In my Director days two of my most important Strategic Delegation categories were: Communication Reliability and Progressive Innovation. When I strategically delegated an important communication assignment… I measured how well the employee carried forward the Agency’s mission, culture, and personality within their specific assignment. Likewise, as you can guess I always looked forward to every employee applying their own progressive creativity concepts during their involvement in a special service innovation initiative. 

Bottomline: Whether you are giving or receiving Strategic Delegation assignments… always… ALWAYS respect the overall progressive value for the company/organization.Making the correct delegation assignments and effectively assessing their outcomes can serve as a solid workforce/workplace development tool.

As we near the end of 2024… it seems like many in a decision-making position/role are trying to identify the best development areas to target as they begin operations in 2025.  In my consultant day job… it is always a priority to help sort through the community, economic, education, business and/or workforce development challenges and more appropriately answer The “What’s Missing?” Question!

Do you understand the challenge?

As examples, think about The “What’s Missing?” Question regarding:

• Rebuilding the local library… but how many people really visit the library?
• Adding on to the local school… but overall school student numbers are declining?
• Approving the building of a general (dollar) store… but acknowledging there are already two in the area?
• Considering applying for a special childcare grant… but realizing there may not be the right people available to staff it.
• Or having to deal with being the single “development” organization in the region…and realizing you “can’t be everything to everyone!”

I believe Boards, councils, committees and directors of all businesses and organizations may identify a better development path by first simply addressing The “What’s Missing?” Question.  Jobs, childcare, better trained people, housing and quality recreation options are and always will be important challenges.  But if you narrow your planning focus and try to commonly agree on only one or two priority initiatives… quicker progress will follow.

I guess the goal/purpose of this week’s TRIPLE III TIME message is to try and help decision-makers with a simple, future planning, first-step action recommendation… focus on The “What’s Missing?” Question.  Regardless of the planning group…this action will remind you what you already have…acknowledge your growth limitations and instill gratitude that you get to have the opportunity to make meaningful choices in necessary development areas.

One of my major principles during my years as an organizational director was to never want to hear the phrase:  “It’s not my job!”…from anyone employed in our group.  I believed in and managed the team with a common sense approach of shared accountability.  The every day result was an excellent increased operational knowledge of all aspects by all employees, plus a more unified strive for better performance “score” from every sector of the agency.

Would my:  anti-It’s not my job? approach work as well today…well maybe?  But today I believe our workplaces have become more “specific-skill” driven thereby calling for the need of an Accountability Diversified strategy.  Let me explain.

First, let me say that total organizational accountability is still NOT a solo function.  However, with the greater influence and impact of distance-businessing….virtual meetings…remote learning…and basic working-from-home occurrences, sharing accountability at the “workplace” has had to adapt accordingly and hence Accountability Diversified has become an option.

As was stated earlier Accountability Diversified makes allowances for less in-person, historic information-sharing practices.  This happens when greater responsibility is assigned to leaders to:

• Not treat any individual or group in a “special” way
• Heighten the understanding of performance factors for the entire agency
• Encourage every employee to “stretch” their skills in multiple accountability areas
• Avoid resistance to change
• Strengthen the sense of empowerment among all
• Make product/service quality and quantity a common thread within agency-wide communications
• Not allow progressive organizational joint ventures/partnerships to suffer

Bottomline:  Accountability Diversified does NOT enable specific-skilled employees to adopt the “It’s not my job!” mentality at any time.  Rather their special contribution to an organization will place them in an even greater ACCOUNTABILITY position when regularly communicated by LEADERSHIP!

As a leader at any level or in any situation…have you ever been asked…or asked yourself…does your plan for future action include: Allowing For Failure? Do you think and believe those that work with you would feel “safe” telling you that they messed-up on a project assignment? Would you react with a progressive, quality leadership perspective? Have you found one special chapter in any leadership instruction manual that describes how to best handle and make appropriate personnel reactions when Allowing For Failure in the workplace?

Well…as I researched the issue of Allowing For Failure as a high value leadership trait, I first found an article that reported Allowing For Failure was one of the TOP 10 EMPLOYEE EXPECTATIONS of those entering a new job position. Additionally I found several articles that seemed to suggest that having even “small” corrective plans-of-action for the potential failure of new project activities was not just a recommendation…but almost a modern day requirement!

As you can imagine, my style, history and experiences made writing this Allowing For Failure TRIPLE III TIME message a strong challenge…but change is necessary and natural…right? So here is an important short quotation taken from the Ulliance group that puts this issue in perfect perspective:

“Every mistake has the power to teach you something important, so look for the lesson in every situation. People develop new understandings of themselves, the world they live in, how to relate to other people, the kind of future they might have and a better understanding of how to live life.”

I guess looking back (and forward)…my method for Allowing For Failure was knowing that my innovation mind-set never really expected everything to go great. Rather I just watched to see if everyone was trying their best…and they were!

We have discussed it before…but working with people is the toughest job around.  Trying to get people to work together effectively.  Trying to understand why some choose to perform a task one way…while everyone else wants to do it another way.  Or why some always show up late for work or don’t finish a certain assignment on time…any time!

But did you ever take a little historical look and try to attempt Realizing People’s “Building Blocks”?  What do I mean?

Think about what in their lifetimes may have led them to do what they do and why they are the way they are?!

• Did they finish high school…or did their parents?
• Do they have a “good” job…or ever had one that matched their talents and paid them well enough?
• Do they live in a good neighborhood…in a rural area…in a city?
• Are they religious?
• Were they a single child or did they come from/belong to a big family?
• Do they come from a broken family?
• Have they lived in a cultural-diverse area?
• Are they someone who grew-up following “the rules” completely…or is a risk-taker?
• Do they think they are too young or too old to “make-a-difference”?
• Does “what other people think” drive their decision-making…or are they a free-thinker?

This week’s TRIPLE III TIME message:  Realizing People’s “Building Blocks” is all about making it a professional priority to better understand people before making quick judgments or generalizations.  I believe as people work with others too often personal assumptions are made about someone which may be totally inaccurate.  Will taking a little extra discussion time when making decisions about people in your workplace make you a better person…better LEADER!

Absolutely!